90th Anniversary of No Limit
Reporting from the Isle of Man, Charlie Evered
Friday 25 July 2025
The day started off with breakfast in the wonderful Sefton Hotel in Douglas, where ourselves and the other Yorkshire members are staying. The breakfast was leagues above the Imperial, with a huge selection of fresh fruit and even chicken, beef and ham. Unlike the Imperial it is a very well maintained Victorian hotel with a grand atrium section with internal balconies looking over it, meaning that you can wave to Dale Norman from afar! At 12:30 we all met up at the George Formby Statue to be filmed by the BBC with Andy Poppleton and Nick Saunders being interviewed. The film is now on the BBC Isle of Man news website. We played three songs with an amusing moment when a Chinese lady came to watch during Mr Wu! After that, we quickly dashed off to our cars to meet again at the TT grandstand and have another picture taken before setting off to do a full tour of the TT race course. Nick Saunders and Garnett Orford led the convoy as they had been around the track many times before. It was in this part of the day where we chauffeured Andy Poppleton for the afternoon, a great experience! Andy also pointed out that Tom Stratford's ashes are at the famous 'Gooseneck' section of the course. When we returned from the track tour, we visited the statue again at 3:30 for a small thrash with newly-arrived members Dale, Nicki, Tom Fletcher and Andrew Higham. Then it was a break until 7 pm. At 7 pm we met up at the Rovers Return pub, where GFS members had drinks (sadly I could not enter the pub as I was too young) and later on held a concert of 4 or 5 songs for a huge funeral party. Sadly I chose to not perform at this moment,1 I had a valid excuse though as I gave my uke to Andrew Poppleton who forgot just one of his many, many instruments!Saturday 26 July 2025
After a good night's sleep myself and my Mum went for a swim in the pool at the Sefton Hotel before breakfast. In the pool we found none other than Dale and Nikki, meaning that I am probably the only GFS member who can say that they have quite literally gone “Swimmin With The Wimmin” with Dale! The Formby activities of the day began at 1 pm when most of us met up at the railway station cafe in Douglas where it was rumoured that Tommy Fletcher ate all of the ice cream! After some fish and chips we boarded the steam train for the journey to Port Erin. The train had no corridor so myself and my mum and dad shared a small cabin with Lynne, Paul, Garnett and Jean. We had some good conversations but sadly these were interrupted by the thrash that took place in the next section of the carriage! The train journey was wonderful and allowed us to discover parts of the island that were not seen on the course tour yesterday. We disembarked at Port Erin Station where we were presented with a replica of the Shuttle Shuttleworth Snap motorbike as seen in the film. A thrash was held around the bike in front of at least 100 people, a great audience. Sadly during this performance Nick Saunders developed an injury to his finger and now his vellum is stained red. What a memento of this event for him! We recovered from the performance by having an ice cream at a nearby cafe (a second portion for some members) before making our way to the stage on Port Erin beach. This final performance of the day began at 5:30 and although we were missing microphones approximately 60 people arrived on the beach to watch. We performed 10 songs including two solo songs by Andy Eastwood. To see him do his William Tell routine from behind is something very special. After the performance, the GFS members caught the bus back to Douglas. All in all, another good day and more excitement awaits at the nearby Manx Museum tomorrow.
The Isle of Man Team
Karen, Jeremy, Charlie Evered.
Andrew Poppleton and his Aunt Carol and Uncle Malcolm.
Angie and Geoff Parker.
Garnett Orford and Jean Mallaband.
Andrew Higham and his dad Joe.
Nick Saunders, Mrs Saunders and their daughter Mabel.
Andy, Helen and Poppy Eastwood.
Dale Norman and Nicki Sinclair-Smith.
Tommy Fletcher.
Paul Gardner and Lynne Nichols.
Gail and Simon Kinrade.
ROVING REPORTER, CHARLIE EVERED
EDITED HIGHLIGHTS OF THE RACE
ISLE OF MAN TT 1935 - GEORGE FORMBY
GFS members make the BBC TV News on the Isle of Man
SUNDAY 27 JULY 2025
The activities began at 12:30 pm on Sunday Afternoon when GFS members gathered in the Manx Museum where the No Limit exhibition has opened. The cinema that we were using had some early difficulties so the film was delayed, meaning that members played a couple of songs before No Limit began. The film was due to begin at 1 pm and the good people of Douglas slowly trickled in. Soon after we began to realise that the theatre was full up to capacity - all to see George Formby! What a great success for the Society and is a statement to all of its doubters that George is still fondly remembered. Even the Lieutenant Governor of the Isle of Man, His Excellency, Sir John Lorimer visited the showing. Many members of the audience shared stories relating to the film, such as one lady whose grandfather refused to be a stunt rider in No Limit, saying that 'If I'm going to die I'd rather do it in the genuine TT races than in a film about the TT races!' The film was well received and even though some GFS members had seen it multiple times, there was still much laughter in the audience. After the film, GFS members performed a five-song concert before having a picture taken with the Shuttleworth Snap motorbike present at the museum. We then viewed the No Limit exhibition in the museum as Andy Eastwood and Nick Saunders gave a free tuition session to the uke players in the film audience. As we were very tired after the performance, the statue visit for that afternoon was scrapped and it was instead decided that we would meet at the Rovers Return pub in Douglas. At the pub most visitors found that their ferry home had been cancelled! Thankfully this has been sorted out and as I write, I believe that everyone has found a way back. Overall, a fantastic weekend and a great success for the George Formby Society, surely our greatest achievement since the Royal Albert Hall in 2018. Roll on No Limit 100 in 2035! Charlie Evered - 29 July 2025
I would like to express my sincere thanks to Charlie Evered for his
dedication in keeping in touch with me throughout the Isle of Man
weekend. I am sure I speak for all loyal GFS members when I say that
we would all have loved to make the trip, but for many reasons, this
was not possible.
Charlie has given us all a glimpse into this very special three-day
event, and for that we are truly grateful. I feel sure that our Vellum
magazine editor, Tony Thornton, will also deeply appreciate Charlie’s
efforts to share the sights and sounds of the 2025 Isle of Man No Limit
ninetieth anniversary celebration. Charlie, you are a star!
Peter Pollard - 29 July 2025
Friday 25 July 2025
The day started off with breakfast in the wonderful Sefton Hotel in Douglas, where ourselves and the other Yorkshire members are staying. The breakfast was leagues above the Imperial, with a huge selection of fresh fruit and even chicken, beef and ham. Unlike the Imperial it is a very well maintained Victorian hotel with a grand atrium section with internal balconies looking over it, meaning that you can wave to Dale Norman from afar! At 12:30 we all met up at the George Formby Statue to be filmed by the BBC with Andy Poppleton and Nick Saunders being interviewed. The film is now on the BBC Isle of Man news website. We played three songs with an amusing moment when a Chinese lady came to watch during Mr Wu! After that, we quickly dashed off to our cars to meet again at the TT grandstand and have another picture taken before setting off to do a full tour of the TT race course. Nick Saunders and Garnett Orford led the convoy as they had been around the track many times before. It was in this part of the day where we chauffeured Andy Poppleton for the afternoon, a great experience! Andy also pointed out that Tom Stratford's ashes are at the famous 'Gooseneck' section of the course. When we returned from the track tour, we visited the statue again at 3:30 for a small thrash with newly-arrived members Dale, Nicki, Tom Fletcher and Andrew Higham. Then it was a break until 7 pm. At 7 pm we met up at the Rovers Return pub, where GFS members had drinks (sadly I could not enter the pub as I was too young) and later on held a concert of 4 or 5 songs for a huge funeral party. Sadly I chose to not perform at this moment,1 I had a valid excuse though as I gave my uke to Andrew Poppleton who forgot just one of his many, many instruments!Saturday 26 July 2025
After a good night's sleep myself and my Mum went for a swim in the pool at the Sefton Hotel before breakfast. In the pool we found none other than Dale and Nikki, meaning that I am probably the only GFS member who can say that they have quite literally gone “Swimmin With The Wimmin” with Dale! The Formby activities of the day began at 1 pm when most of us met up at the railway station cafe in Douglas where it was rumoured that Tommy Fletcher ate all of the ice cream! After some fish and chips we boarded the steam train for the journey to Port Erin. The train had no corridor so myself and my mum and dad shared a small cabin with Lynne, Paul, Garnett and Jean. We had some good conversations but sadly these were interrupted by the thrash that took place in the next section of the carriage! The train journey was wonderful and allowed us to discover parts of the island that were not seen on the course tour yesterday. We disembarked at Port Erin Station where we were presented with a replica of the Shuttle Shuttleworth Snap motorbike as seen in the film. A thrash was held around the bike in front of at least 100 people, a great audience. Sadly during this performance Nick Saunders developed an injury to his finger and now his vellum is stained red. What a memento of this event for him! We recovered from the performance by having an ice cream at a nearby cafe (a second portion for some members) before making our way to the stage on Port Erin beach. This final performance of the day began at 5:30 and although we were missing microphones approximately 60 people arrived on the beach to watch. We performed 10 songs including two solo songs by Andy Eastwood. To see him do his William Tell routine from behind is something very special. After the performance, the GFS members caught the bus back to Douglas. All in all, another good day and more excitement awaits at the nearby Manx Museum tomorrow.
The Isle of Man Team
Karen, Jeremy, Charlie Evered.
Andrew Poppleton and his Aunt Carol and Uncle Malcolm.
Angie and Geoff Parker.
Garnett Orford and Jean Mallaband.
Andrew Higham and his dad Joe.
Nick Saunders, Mrs Saunders and their daughter Mabel.
Andy, Helen and Poppy Eastwood.
Dale Norman and Nicki Sinclair-Smith.
Tommy Fletcher.
Paul Gardner and Lynne Nichols.
Gail and Simon Kinrade.
ROVING REPORTER, CHARLIE EVERED
EDITED HIGHLIGHTS OF THE RACE
ISLE OF MAN TT 1935 - GEORGE FORMBY
GFS members make the BBC TV News on the Isle of Man
SUNDAY 27 JULY 2025
The activities began at 12:30 pm on Sunday Afternoon when GFS members gathered in the Manx Museum where the No Limit exhibition has opened. The cinema that we were using had some early difficulties so the film was delayed, meaning that members played a couple of songs before No Limit began. The film was due to begin at 1 pm and the good people of Douglas slowly trickled in. Soon after we began to realise that the theatre was full up to capacity - all to see George Formby! What a great success for the Society and is a statement to all of its doubters that George is still fondly remembered. Even the Lieutenant Governor of the Isle of Man, His Excellency, Sir John Lorimer visited the showing. Many members of the audience shared stories relating to the film, such as one lady whose grandfather refused to be a stunt rider in No Limit, saying that 'If I'm going to die I'd rather do it in the genuine TT races than in a film about the TT races!' The film was well received and even though some GFS members had seen it multiple times, there was still much laughter in the audience. After the film, GFS members performed a five-song concert before having a picture taken with the Shuttleworth Snap motorbike present at the museum. We then viewed the No Limit exhibition in the museum as Andy Eastwood and Nick Saunders gave a free tuition session to the uke players in the film audience. As we were very tired after the performance, the statue visit for that afternoon was scrapped and it was instead decided that we would meet at the Rovers Return pub in Douglas. At the pub most visitors found that their ferry home had been cancelled! Thankfully this has been sorted out and as I write, I believe that everyone has found a way back. Overall, a fantastic weekend and a great success for the George Formby Society, surely our greatest achievement since the Royal Albert Hall in 2018. Roll on No Limit 100 in 2035! Charlie Evered - 29 July 2025
I would like to express my sincere thanks to Charlie Evered for his
dedication in keeping in touch with me throughout the Isle of Man
weekend. I am sure I speak for all loyal GFS members when I say
that we would all have loved to make the trip, but for many
reasons, this was not possible.
Charlie has given us all a glimpse into this very special three-day
event, and for that we are truly grateful. I feel sure that our Vellum
magazine editor, Tony Thornton, will also deeply appreciate
Charlie’s efforts to share the sights and sounds of the 2025 Isle of
Man No Limit ninetieth anniversary celebration. Charlie, you are a
star!
Peter Pollard - 29 July 2025
90th anniversary
of no limit
Reporting from the Isle of Man. Charlie Evered
